The cassette tape pointed the way to the future even before it was superceded by the CD. Sure, the CD offered better quality, but it was really just vinyl with benefits: an evolutionary cul-de-sac. The cassette tape was portable and re-writable and put you in charge of what you recorded and listened to and in what order -- just like the iPod and the Spotify playlist. As Bow Wow Wow sang, "hit it, pause it, record it and play / turn it, rewind, and rub it away".

Even when a cassette went wrong and got chewed up, you got to stick a pen in it and whirl it round your head. Don't tell us you didn't enjoy that.

The Walkman legacy lives on in the form of Sony's line of MP3 players, including the NWZ-W252, a Walkman you can wear on your jog and keep wearing as you step into the shower. Now that's progress.